Chapter 3: Inferno
Luka stared at his reflection in the mirror. He squinted at the man looking back at himself and then splashed another handful of cold water over his face. He was due round to Susan's place in less then fifteen minutes. They'd arranged for him to go round first thing that morning before his shift so that Susan could give him a brief orientation of the apartment. Luka started at 9:30 and he wanted to create a good impression so Susan felt safe leaving Susie in his capable hands. Fifteen minutes later Susan buzzed in a rather out-of-breath looking Luka, she laughed, "Yeah those stairs can do that to you," and poured him a lemonade. "I've made you up the spare bed, I'm afraid it's not up to much." She told him leading him down the narrow hallway to the spare room. Leaning up against the wall by the window was a bed frame, on the floor was a neatly made bed consisting of two pillows, a bedspread and a mattress. "We had a bit of an accident last night." Susan explained seeing Luka's startled expression. "You could sleep on the couch if you'd prefer." "Oh no, you've gone to all this trouble. I'd be delighted to sleep on the mattress." He laughed. Turning left out of the spare room; where Luka dumped his rucksack Susan cracked open the door. There was a lump in the covers and some tousled hair on the pillow. "Susie'll sleep here with me. Sometimes she likes a story. I don't have any of her books so you can just tell her to wait." Next Susan showed Luka the bathroom - which was opposite her room. Then the living room and showed him which taped she had. In the kitchen Susan explained where everything was and told Luka where Susie's tea was in the fridge. She thanked Luka and then showed him out after giving him her spare key. Once he had gone Susan rinsed out his glass and leaving it up turned on the counter hurried off to get Susie up. Just as Luka arrived at the hospital Susan and Susie were leaving the building. They climbed into the awaiting cab and drove off. Approximately fifteen minutes later the pair arrived outside a nicely decorated school. Around the side and back was a large play area for the children. Susie stared in awe at the swings, climbing frames and roundabouts. "We didn't have one of them!" She gasped pointing at an elaborate set of Monkey Bars. "Come on Susie, let's get inside. We don't want to be late, do we?" Susan urged. Hand in hand the pair climbed the stairs to the red-bricked building. They followed the signs to the principal's office and met the secretary outside. "Ahh. You must be Ms. Lewis and Susie." The woman smiled at them. "Why don't you go and sit down over there." She indicated towards a bench next to the door. Then she turned to Susie "Luann's going to be starting at the same time as you." Susie smiled nervously at Luann who returned it with an equally nervous grin. A few minutes later Luann and her mother were called into the principal's office. "Will it be me next?" Susie asked. Susan nodded and Susie returned to kicking her toes and twiddling her thumbs. Soon Luann and her mother returned and Susan and Susie were invited to see the principal. "Ahh. Dr. Lewis, and this must be Susie. I'm Principal McClane. Well, I understand you are our special case. I've spoken to the social worker and we have all Susie's old records. Susie you're going to be in first grade and both you and Luann - our other new girl - will be in Miss MacPherson's class. I'll give you a tour of the school in a short while." The woman explained. She proceeded to talk to Susie about which lessons she liked and disliked. Then she suggested that they go to look round the school. Outside Luann and her mother were still waiting. "Ahh. Mrs. Chaplain, Luann, are you ready for your guided tour?" Susie shyly hid behind Susan throughout most of the tour; Susan dutifully noted that Luann seemed to be behaving in a similar way. She smiled at Mrs. Chaplain. Once the 'tour' was ended they were taken into the dining hall for tea and biscuits while Luann and Susie sat and made friends. "Susan, can I speak to you in a bit?" Principal McClane asked, and then she was called away by her secretary. "Sorry ladies, please just make yourselves comfortable, I'll be back in a minute." "I'm Susan Lewis." Susan informed Mrs. Chaplain, "Susie's Aunt." "Georgia Chaplain, Luann's Mom." Mrs. Chaplain replied, warmly shaking Susan's hand, "We just moved here from California." The pair chatted for a while until the Principal returned apologizing for her absence. "Susan, could I just have a word with you?" "Sure, see you later Georgia." "Oh, Susan, do you need a lift anywhere? My car's parked out front and the girls seem to have hit it off." "Well as long as you don't mind." Susan told her. "We'll wait for you." Georgia replied before calling both girls over.
"Right, Susan." The Principal sighed once they were inside her office. "Can I just check that we've got everything straight?" Susan nodded. "You are due to become Susie's legal guardian until such time as you can adopt her. Susie currently has no contact with her mother and we have no idea of her whereabouts." Susan nodded again. "I'm presuming that any attempts to access Susie in the school should be denied." "Thank-you." Susan smiled as Mrs. McClane stood up and shook hands. Outside Georgia, Luann and Susie were waiting patiently. "I can see that both Luann and Susie will be valuable additions to the school environment here at Lincoln Elementary School. We'll see you next Monday girls." Mrs. McClane beamed, shaking their hands. The girls giggled nervously and Susan and Georgia led them out of the large building. Once in the car Georgia learned that they had moved into an apartment on the same block as Susie and Susan, they were neighbors! When Luann heard this she exclaimed excitedly "Then we can play together everyday!" Georgia sighed when she heard this and Susan laughed. "Perhaps if it's okay with Luann's Mom she could come over and ply today." Susan offered. This set off squeals of delight and exclamations of "Can I? Can I Mom?" from Luann. "Okay." Georgia resigned laughing and then she suggested, "Luann honey, we'll walk over to Susie's house, that way you can get changed first." Then to Susan she said, "What time shall I come and get her?" "I have to go out to work for six and Susie comes with me to the hospital because my friend, Luka, gets off at seven and then he's staying at my place to watch Susie. I don't mind, Luann can come with us if she likes and then you can pick her up after Luka gets back. Say, about eight 'O' clock." Susan explained. Georgia agreed with her and they pulled up outside Susan's apartment. Susan thanked Georgia and climbed out with Susie.
At the sound of the buzzer Susie jumped up crying, "It's them! It's them!" Susan buzzed them up and sent Susie down to meet them. Both girls made a beeline for Susie and Susan's bedroom while Susan and Georgia chatted over a cup of coffee. After twenty minutes or so Georgia left and Susan set about making the girls some lunch. She could hear various, random shrieks and giggles coming from her room, a thin smile tickled her lips and she thought about how great it was to have children in the house again.
"They're multiplying!" Jerry gasped when he saw Susan walk through the door with Susie and Luann in tow. "It's okay Jerry," she reassured him, "It's only for an hour and then they'll be gone. Come on girls." Susie and Luann followed Susan whispering conspiratorially. She led them into the lounge and seated them at the table. Carter was lying on the couch dozing. He woke up as they came in. "Hi Susan. Who are they?" He asked sleepily, then as his eyes came into focus he exclaimed "Susie!" He recognized the pale-faced little girl from the numerous photos stuck inside Susie's locker. "Hello." Susie said shyly. Hastily Susan introduced Susie and Luann to Carter before checking that it was okay for them to stay in the lounge with him until Luka was ready to take them home. "Luka?" Inquired Carter. "Yes, he's babysitting Susie and Luann tonight." Carter stifled a laugh. "So how long do you have Susie for?" Carter asked. "Until Chloe decides she's ready to have her back." Susan sighed. "Indefinitely." She concluded. Carter nodded understandingly and then smiled as he watched the girls playing together. "What time do you finish?" Susan asked. Carter shrugged, "Now-ish. I was waiting for you to get here." Susan turned to the girls. "Be quiet okay, do as you're told and don't disturb anyone. I'll come back as soon as I can." And then, turning to Carter, "See you John."
Susan marched over to the board; there were nine members of the de Alberwitz family who had singed various extremities during a bonfire, a young child with breathing difficulties - probably asthma caused by an allergy, on one amputation on a man's little finger. Susan stared quizzically at the board before wandering off to find Luka. It wasn't difficult. Two of the de Alberwitz' were arguing, Luka's rich Croatian accent stood out above them so he was easily found. "Is there a problem?" She asked poking her head around the door of Exam 4. "No. No problem. Just a slight disagreement." Came the answer from Luka. "That's okay. I'll send Pratt in to finish up. Luka." Susan left and Luka followed. "You wouldn't mind watching Susie's friend, Luann, would you? Her Mom's going to pick her up at about eight 'o' clock. Susan led Luka towards the lounge to introduce Luann to Luka. Inside Carter was laughing and talking with Luann and Susie. "Sure. I don't mind watching an extra one." Luka replied watching Carter. Immediately Carter stood up, said goodbye to the girls and left part frowning at Susan. Luka raised an eyebrow. "Oh, it's nothing." Susan sighed. "There's a couple of TV dinners n the fridge for the girls. You can raid the cupboards for something for yourself or you can call out for a pizza. I'll pay." "We should get back to work." Luka said, taking Susan's arm. "What's going on with you and Carter?" he asked as they left. "He's not happy about me asking you for support." Luka looked puzzled. "He doesn't want me, he's got Abby now, but he's not happy with me being around anyone else. It's a case of jealous older brother, you know how competitive her can be." Susan explained. "He thinks. we're. he thinks." Luka and Susan shared an uneasy stare. Both looking deep into one another's eyes, knowing what the other was thinking and trying to figure out how they felt. The silence between the pair was brother by the sound of a gurney crashing through the E.R. and the paramedics voice barking out a list of vitals. Luka and Susan flew to the gurney, equally desperate to escape the unwelcome situation. "Mr. Thornton, thirty-eight year-old involved in a head on MVA, open fib fracture and interior dislocation of left shoulder. Conscious." Doris (the paramedic) stated dryly. Mr. Thornton was objecting loudly - and colorfully - about his treatment. "There's nothing wrong with my bloody her. It's my leg and arm you should be looking at!" He yelled, peppering the corridor with expletives. "It's just a precaution." Susan told him following the gurney into Trauma 2. "Can you get a C-Spine done as soon as possible?" She whispered urgently to Lily. "It's okay Luka, I've got it." Once Mr. Thornton was freed from the neck brace and backboard he became more docile. "Mr. Thornton, the X-rays show that your left shoulder has been dislocated. We need to put it back into place, we can give you some more Morphine but it will hurt." Susan informed the writhing man, "once we've done this we'll send you up to the O.R. for an operation to fix the bone in your leg." "Can't you just do it when you fix my leg?" Mr. Thornton questioned, the irritation reappeared in his voice. "I'm afraid that's not possible right now. We'll just pop it back into place then fit you with an immobilizer then you can go upstairs. I promise you, it won't take more than ten minutes." Susan then turned to Lily, "I think we're going to need Luka in here." She whispered. Ten minutes later Luka was standing beside Mr. Thornton holding his left hand loosely, Susan was holding the other end of a piece of material looped under Mr. Thornton's armpits. Mr. Thornton was wincing in pain and over milking his true feelings. "Okay, Mr. Thornton, I'm going to count to three, just relax, when I get to three both me and Doctor Lewis are going to pull. Ready?" Luka explained, Susan nodded; Mr. Thornton didn't appear to be paying attention. "Right then, 1. 2." He nodded at Susan as he said two and they both pulled taking Mr. Thornton by surprise. He began to scream, swore loudly then stopped and thanked Susan and Luka. Outside Lydia, Chuny and Malik stood outside, Malik laughed loudly and held out his hands into which both Lydia and Chuny planted two ten dollar bills before muttering away muttering.
Later Susan saw both Luann and Susie away with Luka before returning to the mad house that was the E.R. With eight hours left until she could leave Susan set to work on the plethora of patients. They suddenly began pouring in at around 7:30. Several of the de Alberwitz' returned after a drunken brawl, a toddler with a reaction to a bee sting, a cut foot, and later, two stabbings and a gunshot wound, not to mention the amputated finger guy who decided to have an MI on the way out and had to be rushed into Trauma. Susan caught a cab home, at least she would be getting her car back tomorrow, right now she was so tired she knew she wouldn't have been about to drive home safely.
She reached her apartment quickly and didn't take long to get ready for bed. Susie was fast asleep and as she made her way to the bathroom she heard a noise coming from the spare room. Glancing round the door she saw Luka, restless, muttering. Susan quietly closed the door leaving Luka alone with his dreams. As she climbed into bed that night (or morning) she tried to figure out what it was that was bothering her - but try as she might she couldn't work it out so gradually she fell into a restless sleep of her own.
Three hours later Luka woke up and headed along to the bathroom. Out of curiosity he poked his head around Susan's door to just check that she was back. She was in a shallow, restless, slumber with one arm loosely around Susie. As Luka watched Susan settled down and her breathing became relaxed, she looked so peaceful, lying there with her chest gently rising and falling and Susie snuggled into her. Luka stood watching them sleep for God knows how long, he felt so relaxed, just being there brought back all kinds of long forgotten memories he hadn't realized he had lost until now. After some time he left feeling totally at ease with the world and slept better for the rest of that night than he had for months.
Luka stared at his reflection in the mirror. He squinted at the man looking back at himself and then splashed another handful of cold water over his face. He was due round to Susan's place in less then fifteen minutes. They'd arranged for him to go round first thing that morning before his shift so that Susan could give him a brief orientation of the apartment. Luka started at 9:30 and he wanted to create a good impression so Susan felt safe leaving Susie in his capable hands. Fifteen minutes later Susan buzzed in a rather out-of-breath looking Luka, she laughed, "Yeah those stairs can do that to you," and poured him a lemonade. "I've made you up the spare bed, I'm afraid it's not up to much." She told him leading him down the narrow hallway to the spare room. Leaning up against the wall by the window was a bed frame, on the floor was a neatly made bed consisting of two pillows, a bedspread and a mattress. "We had a bit of an accident last night." Susan explained seeing Luka's startled expression. "You could sleep on the couch if you'd prefer." "Oh no, you've gone to all this trouble. I'd be delighted to sleep on the mattress." He laughed. Turning left out of the spare room; where Luka dumped his rucksack Susan cracked open the door. There was a lump in the covers and some tousled hair on the pillow. "Susie'll sleep here with me. Sometimes she likes a story. I don't have any of her books so you can just tell her to wait." Next Susan showed Luka the bathroom - which was opposite her room. Then the living room and showed him which taped she had. In the kitchen Susan explained where everything was and told Luka where Susie's tea was in the fridge. She thanked Luka and then showed him out after giving him her spare key. Once he had gone Susan rinsed out his glass and leaving it up turned on the counter hurried off to get Susie up. Just as Luka arrived at the hospital Susan and Susie were leaving the building. They climbed into the awaiting cab and drove off. Approximately fifteen minutes later the pair arrived outside a nicely decorated school. Around the side and back was a large play area for the children. Susie stared in awe at the swings, climbing frames and roundabouts. "We didn't have one of them!" She gasped pointing at an elaborate set of Monkey Bars. "Come on Susie, let's get inside. We don't want to be late, do we?" Susan urged. Hand in hand the pair climbed the stairs to the red-bricked building. They followed the signs to the principal's office and met the secretary outside. "Ahh. You must be Ms. Lewis and Susie." The woman smiled at them. "Why don't you go and sit down over there." She indicated towards a bench next to the door. Then she turned to Susie "Luann's going to be starting at the same time as you." Susie smiled nervously at Luann who returned it with an equally nervous grin. A few minutes later Luann and her mother were called into the principal's office. "Will it be me next?" Susie asked. Susan nodded and Susie returned to kicking her toes and twiddling her thumbs. Soon Luann and her mother returned and Susan and Susie were invited to see the principal. "Ahh. Dr. Lewis, and this must be Susie. I'm Principal McClane. Well, I understand you are our special case. I've spoken to the social worker and we have all Susie's old records. Susie you're going to be in first grade and both you and Luann - our other new girl - will be in Miss MacPherson's class. I'll give you a tour of the school in a short while." The woman explained. She proceeded to talk to Susie about which lessons she liked and disliked. Then she suggested that they go to look round the school. Outside Luann and her mother were still waiting. "Ahh. Mrs. Chaplain, Luann, are you ready for your guided tour?" Susie shyly hid behind Susan throughout most of the tour; Susan dutifully noted that Luann seemed to be behaving in a similar way. She smiled at Mrs. Chaplain. Once the 'tour' was ended they were taken into the dining hall for tea and biscuits while Luann and Susie sat and made friends. "Susan, can I speak to you in a bit?" Principal McClane asked, and then she was called away by her secretary. "Sorry ladies, please just make yourselves comfortable, I'll be back in a minute." "I'm Susan Lewis." Susan informed Mrs. Chaplain, "Susie's Aunt." "Georgia Chaplain, Luann's Mom." Mrs. Chaplain replied, warmly shaking Susan's hand, "We just moved here from California." The pair chatted for a while until the Principal returned apologizing for her absence. "Susan, could I just have a word with you?" "Sure, see you later Georgia." "Oh, Susan, do you need a lift anywhere? My car's parked out front and the girls seem to have hit it off." "Well as long as you don't mind." Susan told her. "We'll wait for you." Georgia replied before calling both girls over.
"Right, Susan." The Principal sighed once they were inside her office. "Can I just check that we've got everything straight?" Susan nodded. "You are due to become Susie's legal guardian until such time as you can adopt her. Susie currently has no contact with her mother and we have no idea of her whereabouts." Susan nodded again. "I'm presuming that any attempts to access Susie in the school should be denied." "Thank-you." Susan smiled as Mrs. McClane stood up and shook hands. Outside Georgia, Luann and Susie were waiting patiently. "I can see that both Luann and Susie will be valuable additions to the school environment here at Lincoln Elementary School. We'll see you next Monday girls." Mrs. McClane beamed, shaking their hands. The girls giggled nervously and Susan and Georgia led them out of the large building. Once in the car Georgia learned that they had moved into an apartment on the same block as Susie and Susan, they were neighbors! When Luann heard this she exclaimed excitedly "Then we can play together everyday!" Georgia sighed when she heard this and Susan laughed. "Perhaps if it's okay with Luann's Mom she could come over and ply today." Susan offered. This set off squeals of delight and exclamations of "Can I? Can I Mom?" from Luann. "Okay." Georgia resigned laughing and then she suggested, "Luann honey, we'll walk over to Susie's house, that way you can get changed first." Then to Susan she said, "What time shall I come and get her?" "I have to go out to work for six and Susie comes with me to the hospital because my friend, Luka, gets off at seven and then he's staying at my place to watch Susie. I don't mind, Luann can come with us if she likes and then you can pick her up after Luka gets back. Say, about eight 'O' clock." Susan explained. Georgia agreed with her and they pulled up outside Susan's apartment. Susan thanked Georgia and climbed out with Susie.
At the sound of the buzzer Susie jumped up crying, "It's them! It's them!" Susan buzzed them up and sent Susie down to meet them. Both girls made a beeline for Susie and Susan's bedroom while Susan and Georgia chatted over a cup of coffee. After twenty minutes or so Georgia left and Susan set about making the girls some lunch. She could hear various, random shrieks and giggles coming from her room, a thin smile tickled her lips and she thought about how great it was to have children in the house again.
"They're multiplying!" Jerry gasped when he saw Susan walk through the door with Susie and Luann in tow. "It's okay Jerry," she reassured him, "It's only for an hour and then they'll be gone. Come on girls." Susie and Luann followed Susan whispering conspiratorially. She led them into the lounge and seated them at the table. Carter was lying on the couch dozing. He woke up as they came in. "Hi Susan. Who are they?" He asked sleepily, then as his eyes came into focus he exclaimed "Susie!" He recognized the pale-faced little girl from the numerous photos stuck inside Susie's locker. "Hello." Susie said shyly. Hastily Susan introduced Susie and Luann to Carter before checking that it was okay for them to stay in the lounge with him until Luka was ready to take them home. "Luka?" Inquired Carter. "Yes, he's babysitting Susie and Luann tonight." Carter stifled a laugh. "So how long do you have Susie for?" Carter asked. "Until Chloe decides she's ready to have her back." Susan sighed. "Indefinitely." She concluded. Carter nodded understandingly and then smiled as he watched the girls playing together. "What time do you finish?" Susan asked. Carter shrugged, "Now-ish. I was waiting for you to get here." Susan turned to the girls. "Be quiet okay, do as you're told and don't disturb anyone. I'll come back as soon as I can." And then, turning to Carter, "See you John."
Susan marched over to the board; there were nine members of the de Alberwitz family who had singed various extremities during a bonfire, a young child with breathing difficulties - probably asthma caused by an allergy, on one amputation on a man's little finger. Susan stared quizzically at the board before wandering off to find Luka. It wasn't difficult. Two of the de Alberwitz' were arguing, Luka's rich Croatian accent stood out above them so he was easily found. "Is there a problem?" She asked poking her head around the door of Exam 4. "No. No problem. Just a slight disagreement." Came the answer from Luka. "That's okay. I'll send Pratt in to finish up. Luka." Susan left and Luka followed. "You wouldn't mind watching Susie's friend, Luann, would you? Her Mom's going to pick her up at about eight 'o' clock. Susan led Luka towards the lounge to introduce Luann to Luka. Inside Carter was laughing and talking with Luann and Susie. "Sure. I don't mind watching an extra one." Luka replied watching Carter. Immediately Carter stood up, said goodbye to the girls and left part frowning at Susan. Luka raised an eyebrow. "Oh, it's nothing." Susan sighed. "There's a couple of TV dinners n the fridge for the girls. You can raid the cupboards for something for yourself or you can call out for a pizza. I'll pay." "We should get back to work." Luka said, taking Susan's arm. "What's going on with you and Carter?" he asked as they left. "He's not happy about me asking you for support." Luka looked puzzled. "He doesn't want me, he's got Abby now, but he's not happy with me being around anyone else. It's a case of jealous older brother, you know how competitive her can be." Susan explained. "He thinks. we're. he thinks." Luka and Susan shared an uneasy stare. Both looking deep into one another's eyes, knowing what the other was thinking and trying to figure out how they felt. The silence between the pair was brother by the sound of a gurney crashing through the E.R. and the paramedics voice barking out a list of vitals. Luka and Susan flew to the gurney, equally desperate to escape the unwelcome situation. "Mr. Thornton, thirty-eight year-old involved in a head on MVA, open fib fracture and interior dislocation of left shoulder. Conscious." Doris (the paramedic) stated dryly. Mr. Thornton was objecting loudly - and colorfully - about his treatment. "There's nothing wrong with my bloody her. It's my leg and arm you should be looking at!" He yelled, peppering the corridor with expletives. "It's just a precaution." Susan told him following the gurney into Trauma 2. "Can you get a C-Spine done as soon as possible?" She whispered urgently to Lily. "It's okay Luka, I've got it." Once Mr. Thornton was freed from the neck brace and backboard he became more docile. "Mr. Thornton, the X-rays show that your left shoulder has been dislocated. We need to put it back into place, we can give you some more Morphine but it will hurt." Susan informed the writhing man, "once we've done this we'll send you up to the O.R. for an operation to fix the bone in your leg." "Can't you just do it when you fix my leg?" Mr. Thornton questioned, the irritation reappeared in his voice. "I'm afraid that's not possible right now. We'll just pop it back into place then fit you with an immobilizer then you can go upstairs. I promise you, it won't take more than ten minutes." Susan then turned to Lily, "I think we're going to need Luka in here." She whispered. Ten minutes later Luka was standing beside Mr. Thornton holding his left hand loosely, Susan was holding the other end of a piece of material looped under Mr. Thornton's armpits. Mr. Thornton was wincing in pain and over milking his true feelings. "Okay, Mr. Thornton, I'm going to count to three, just relax, when I get to three both me and Doctor Lewis are going to pull. Ready?" Luka explained, Susan nodded; Mr. Thornton didn't appear to be paying attention. "Right then, 1. 2." He nodded at Susan as he said two and they both pulled taking Mr. Thornton by surprise. He began to scream, swore loudly then stopped and thanked Susan and Luka. Outside Lydia, Chuny and Malik stood outside, Malik laughed loudly and held out his hands into which both Lydia and Chuny planted two ten dollar bills before muttering away muttering.
Later Susan saw both Luann and Susie away with Luka before returning to the mad house that was the E.R. With eight hours left until she could leave Susan set to work on the plethora of patients. They suddenly began pouring in at around 7:30. Several of the de Alberwitz' returned after a drunken brawl, a toddler with a reaction to a bee sting, a cut foot, and later, two stabbings and a gunshot wound, not to mention the amputated finger guy who decided to have an MI on the way out and had to be rushed into Trauma. Susan caught a cab home, at least she would be getting her car back tomorrow, right now she was so tired she knew she wouldn't have been about to drive home safely.
She reached her apartment quickly and didn't take long to get ready for bed. Susie was fast asleep and as she made her way to the bathroom she heard a noise coming from the spare room. Glancing round the door she saw Luka, restless, muttering. Susan quietly closed the door leaving Luka alone with his dreams. As she climbed into bed that night (or morning) she tried to figure out what it was that was bothering her - but try as she might she couldn't work it out so gradually she fell into a restless sleep of her own.
Three hours later Luka woke up and headed along to the bathroom. Out of curiosity he poked his head around Susan's door to just check that she was back. She was in a shallow, restless, slumber with one arm loosely around Susie. As Luka watched Susan settled down and her breathing became relaxed, she looked so peaceful, lying there with her chest gently rising and falling and Susie snuggled into her. Luka stood watching them sleep for God knows how long, he felt so relaxed, just being there brought back all kinds of long forgotten memories he hadn't realized he had lost until now. After some time he left feeling totally at ease with the world and slept better for the rest of that night than he had for months.